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This cartoon was inspired by a Paul Krugman column that was published in August, “The Bad Economics of Fossil Fuel Defenders.” Krugman wrote:
…there is a remarkable inconsistency between conservatives’ expressed faith in the power of private initiative and their assertion that climate policies will paralyze the economy. Businesses, the right likes to tell us, are engines of innovation and adaptation, rising to meet any challenge. Yet somehow the same people who laud private-sector creativity insist that businesses will shrivel up and die if confronted with new regulations or emission fees.
In fact, a number of studies have shown that government projections of the effects of new environmental or safety regulations consistently overestimate their costs, precisely because businesses respond to new rules and incentives by innovating, finding ways to reduce compliance costs. And industry projections of the adverse effects of regulation are far worse, typically overstating the costs to a ludicrous degree.
I made a process illustration. I’ve done these a few times before, because I honestly love looking at other cartoonists’ process illustrations, so I figure some of you will be interested too.
TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON
This cartoon has four panels, plus an additional tiny “kicker” panel under the bottom of the cartoon.
The cartoon shows two businessmen-types walking on a city street. One of them is wearing a red bow-tie and a sky-blue suit; the other is wearing an ordinary tie and a duller suit, with a desaturated green jacket and black pants. The bow-tie guy is totally bald – probably shaves his head – and has a van dyke beard and mustache. The regular-tie guy has blond hair and is cleanshaven, and is looking at his smart phone as he walks.
PANEL ONE
The two of them walk on the sidewalk, Blonde looking at his phone, Bowtie raising his arms enthusiastically as he talks, grinning. (Not important to the cartoon: In the background, across the street, a smiling businessman talks to a smiling man with red skin, horns, and a tail, who is holding up a clipboard. And a woman in a second story window leans out to smile at a largish bird which is hovering and looking back at her.)
BOWTIE: The most amazing thing about capitalism is the creative genius of entrepreneurs!
PANEL 2
A closeup on just Bowtie, who looks overjoyed. His eyes are drawn as stars, and the air around him is filled with stars and dollar signs.
BOWTIE: If there’s profit to be made, there’s nothing capitalism can’t do! Feed the world! Create the internet! Create modern medicine!
PANEL 3
A shot of the two of them walking. Bowtie keeps on grinning and talking, his fists pumped in front of him in a pleased sort of way. Blonde reads something from the cell phone he’s holding.
BOWTIE: There’s no problem that capitalism can’t innovate around!
BLONDE: Hey, look at this: some senators want new regulations to protect the climate.
PANEL 4
Bowtie jumps straight up into the air (cartoon code for “I am very surprised”), clutching his face in his hands, his mouth and eyes huge in an expression of enormous dismay. He is yelling. Blonde, surprised by Bowtie’s big reaction, is stumbling back from Bowtie a little.
BOWTIE: NOOOO! CAPITALISM IS DOOMED!
TINY KICKER PANEL UNDER THE BOTTOM OF THE STRIP
Bowtie is speaking directly to the readers, his face still showing distress.
BOWTIE: Even if capitalism miraculously survives, some rich people will be slightly less rich! I can’t imagine a greater tragedy!
Love it! That said….
From the dawn of history (9000 BCE?) to the year 2000, real worldwide daily median income per capita had grown to about $3.23.
By 2017, it had more than doubled–reaching about $6.68.
Moral: If you want to make a difference in someone’s life through charitable contributions, you might consider contributing to people with much less median income than in the US. But NO ONE’s charitable contributions could ever hope to match the poverty-fighting power of global capitalism.
(H/t economist Dina D. Pomeranz)